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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

has anyone ever found topping up a good thing?

17 replies

robinredbreast · 30/08/2007 18:05

there is a hell of alot of talk on this sit re topping up
lots of people advised to do it or thinking about it

has anyone found this giving one bottle of formula before bed helpful?

OP posts:
Emzy5 · 30/08/2007 19:36

my ds is 10 weeks old. he's a hungry boy! i have recently started topping him up with 5 oz of formula. it is bliss!

before i started topping him up, he was cluster feeding all afternoon and evening. tbh it started to get me down. i felt drained. i really feel that topping up has taken some of the pressure off of me. also my dh can take part in the feeding which he loves.

i know that this means he doesn't still get all the benefits of bf but the result is a much happier mama.

warning although it is great when you start topping up - freedom - it's really hard to go back because:

a) your milk dries up a bit because baby isn't suckling
b) my ds starting sleeping through the night - woo hoo

it's a personal choice, you have to do what's right for you...

hope that helps xxxxx

Original poster
robinredbreast · 30/08/2007 19:38

yeah but still get quite alot of the benefits of bf surely ?

OP posts:
Emzy5 · 30/08/2007 20:04

i think so. no one ever tells you exactly what though. i felt like i was being bad mum for doing so. like formula is bad for babys. i dunno. did my head in thinking about it tbh.

you thinking of topping up?

Original poster
robinredbreast · 30/08/2007 20:14

yeah my dd is 9 wks so shes had quite a good innings
and im knackered

i think it might help

ill still bf the rest of the time hopefully till 6 months
it would only be one bott of formula at night

OP posts:
Bluestocking · 30/08/2007 20:16

I chose not to use formula at all because there is evidence that the non-human proteins in formula can contribute to damaging the immature gut. For me, even the potential risk of that permanent damage far, far outweighed the convenience factor of possibly getting a couple of hours of peace and quiet. But parenting is all about weighing up the risks, and I'm quite certain that I have chosen to take other risks that other parents on here would find unacceptable.

Emzy5 · 30/08/2007 20:34

you have to do what feels right for you. once you've made your choice, don't let other people make you feel bad for it.

like bluestocking said, everyone makes parenting choices which someone will find unacceptable. giving your baby some formula to ease pressure off of you is not so bad compared to some choices parents make (i'm thinking of some children in my class and glad to be on maternity leave!).

btw the reason why people advise not to ff is because it removes the protective lining that bm gives a baby's tummy. not that it does long term damage. this means that they can be more prone to tummy bugs. it peaks at 3 months tho so if you can make it til then good for you. WHO advises to bf til 6 months, these mums deserve medals.

look around you, can you tell who was bf and who was ff?

Emzy5 · 30/08/2007 20:36

also, be warned, it may not make a difference at all!

Original poster
robinredbreast · 30/08/2007 20:39

yes i agree its just a choice thing really

i thought it may be better to do it for 6 months with a f top up
rather than ex for say 3/4 months then stop?

actually think ill post this qustion too

OP posts:
Emzy5 · 30/08/2007 20:41

i think so too. that's my plan. one bot per night and bf the rest.

Kathyis6incheshigh · 30/08/2007 20:43

I am topping up my 9 month old and it is helping hugely with the sleeping, BUT I am doing it in the awareness that it is the beginning of the end of breastfeeding - there is bound to be an effect on my supply.

Up till now I was sneaking in the occasional bottle of formula or expressed milk when I got fed up with it or felt desperate for a break, but didn't make it a regular thing. This has worked well for me.

Good luck whatever you decide

Nightynight · 30/08/2007 21:44

I think topping up does have a place. If you have a very hungry baby, solely breastfeeding just isnt practical for some people. The old saying "breastfeeding really takes it out of a woman" is not just an old wives tale - it is true for some mothers.
Topping up does not have to be the beginning of the end for breast feeding, especially if the baby is older and the milk supply is well established.

Scoobi6 · 30/08/2007 21:53

robin if you're not sure about topping up with formula, how about expressing in the morning and giving a bottle of ebm last thing at night? I did this with my DD because she was a grizzly cluster feeder for hours each evening. Morning breast milk is supposed to be "richer" than in the evening and might help your lo settle for the night. Worth a try? I managed to exclusively bf for 4 months this way, then started topping up with ff. Now she's 9 months old, FT at nursery and mostly ff, but still has a little bf morning and night. Supply really dropped off once I started topping up tho, because she slept right through the night!

You have to do what's right for you and your lo at the end of the day, don't worry too much about what other people think

MissTea4Me · 01/09/2007 23:04

Don't know if you're still looking at this thread but just wanted to say that topping up is not necessarily the beginning of the end of bf-- my dd went through a very hungry phase somewhere around 2-3 months (sorry can't remember more accurately; it's all very hazy) and every night I had this very emotional argument with dh about whether to top her up which always ended in me caving in and sulking while while he ff her. Then, after a few weeks she just stopped needing that last bottle and we were back to exclusive bf for another few months. (And wished I'd kept giving her the occasional bottle as we had a great battle getting her back onto it then, but that's another story).

chocolatekimmy · 02/09/2007 21:10

I did with my second, a small formula feed in the evening when I was desperate for a rest and a break from it. It didn't make a difference with regard to sleeping or anything else.

She now has ezcema, don't know if it is linked - guess i never will - but that alone prevented me from doing it again with my third.

puffylovett · 02/09/2007 21:19

i would never consider topping up while i can still bf ds, but that's my personal choice and if thats what you want to do then go for it (hope that doesn't sound pompous)

however i have found that dh giving a bottle of expressed morning milk at 11pm has really helped him go from 11pm to 5am, sometimes he goes through to 7am which would be bliss, except that on those nights the dog howls for a pee at 3am

so it might be worth tryig that first if you would prefer to stick to bm. i usually express whilst doing 11am feed then it's no extra time.

Kathyis6incheshigh · 02/09/2007 21:25

I meant I knew it would be the beginning of the end of bf for me, didn't mean to suggest it is always that way for everyone. Of course it's not - sorry

fishie · 02/09/2007 21:36

i struggled to establish bf thus never managed to get into expressing at all. but although barely had enough milk did have sufficient knowledge to not supplement, it does affect supply.

sorry robin, i know that isn't what you asked, but at the time i would have welcomed more info.

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